Interview with Kimberly Derting, author of The Body Finder & Desires of the Dead

Interview with Kimberly Derting


I was lucky enough to snag an interview with Kimberly Derting. Her novel The Body Finder has gotten excellent reviews on Goodreads and the upcoming sequel Desires of the Dead is a highly anticipated read of 2011. Not only is all that great, but she's such a pleasure to interview!

1) Did you originally plan for The Body Finder to have a sequel?

                  

I did! I even had Desires of the Dead partially written when The Body Finder sold, so thankfully my publisher agreed.  

2) What do you think are some of the drawbacks (if any) of having a series? Reversely, what are some of the positives?

I suppose the drawbacks of a series are that not everything always gets resolved in a single book.  The positives are that you have much more time to spend with all of the characters.  Also, it’s kind of fun to look forward to the next book to see what happens.

   

3) What are some of your favorite YA series?

I don’t know if this is one of my favorite series yet, but I just finished City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (I know, what took me so long?) and I can’t imagine that I won’t love the rest as much as the first.  Also, the Wicked Lovely series and Beautiful Creatures.  I haven’t read Crescendo yet, but I loved Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick.  And The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan. 

Wow! This was a loaded question, I could seriously go on and on and on…

4) How did you choose the names Violet and Jay for your main characters? Is there a story or special meaning there?

Not for Violet and Jay, but I did use my friends’ and family’s first and last names (never together, though) throughout both books.  At the launch party for TBF, many of them wore The Body Finder shirts with their names or character descriptions on the back.  For example, one of them had the word “Floater” on the back of her shirt (I’ll let you figure out which character *coughdeadbodycough* she was!).  So fun! 

5) Was there anything cut during the editing process of The Body Finder that you were sad to see go? Was there anything added to the novel that you love?

There wasn’t anything cut that I didn’t (eventually) agree with, but I was thrilled when my editor asked for more of the killer’s POV chapters.  My twisted mind jumped all over that request! 

6) Is there a certain song or band that represents The Body Finder to you? What about for Desires of the Dead (if you can answer this)?

For the overall feel of the series, I really like Evanescence. They have this kind of haunting, melodic vibe that just feels like TBF and DotD to me.  But, there’s one song in particular ( Possum Kingdom by The Toadies) that I always associate with the killer from The Body Finder.  It feels very creepy, killer-y.

7) Many people have had a great emotional response to Violet and Jay's relationship. What are the important parts to you when writing a relationship and what makes Violet and Jay's so strong?

I think it’s important to take the time to develop characters so the readers can truly appreciate why they do the things they do.  Without that, I think it’s hard for a reader to feel connected to the characters.  For Violet and Jay, I really wanted the reader to see their strong friendship before anything happened between them.       

8) Can you tell us anything to expect about Desires of the Dead?

Drum roll please….

S o m e o n e    w i l l     d i e! 

Oh, and Jay & Violet’s relationship will develop.  HA! ;)

    

9) Anything else you'd like to say about The Body Finder, Desires of the Dead or about writing series?

Just that you rock!  Oh, and thanks for having me on your blog! 

Read some sequels and enter your review on the linky at the end of the week for your chance to win a pre-order of Desires of the Dead!